Abramov keeps a low profile, but is currently building a $40 million luxury waterfront home in the Bay of Islands.

He is ranked just inside the top 200 on the Forbes’ billionaires list at 189.

Five new foreign investors have injected $13.4b into the list, and increasing the number of billionaires from six to nine, skyrocketing the combined total value up to $57.7b from $45.2b in 2011, Fairfax NZ reported.

But the 152 locally-grown moneybags actually saw a slight dip in collective wealth, down 2 per cent to $44.3b.

NBR said the international additions were designed to reflect the globalisation of wealth, with most investing enough to earn residency rights.

Among those were New York arts patron Julian Robertson ($3b) at number four on the list, owner of three luxury lodges in NZ.

American William Foley ($1.5b) is buying up New Zealand wineries and owns a luxury lodge in the Wairarapa, not far from fellow new Rich Lister and filmmaker James Cameron’s ($900m) home-base.

The Waikato’s adopted aristocrat Dowager Duchess Henrietta Bedford ($1b) adds some blue blood to the list, with extensive property interests throughout the country.

NBR uses valuations of listed shares, sales of private companies and other valuation techniques to estimate the wealth of those ranked.